2_Minnesota Vikings1

St Louis Rams Gameday HQ

NFC NORTH
MINNESOTA
2014 STRENGTHS:
• Rushing attack, offensive line, special teams
Vikings Offense
The Vikings went into the 2013 season with the intention of
helping Christian Ponder develop into a franchise quarterback.
They had acquired wide receiver Greg Jennings and drafted
Cordarrelle Patterson to give him some weapons in the passing
game. Adrian Peterson remained as good a running back safety
valve as any quarterback could ask for. There were reasons to be
optimistic in Minnesota coming off a 10-6 performance in 2012.
When Ponder began the season by turning the ball over too
frequently, the team panicked. Ponder was replaced by Matt
Cassel, who won a shootout against the Steelers in London
but then got squashed by Carolina. Minnesota then made the
mind-boggling decision to sign Josh Freeman to a contract
and immediately start him on Monday Night Football against
the Giants. Freeman responded with one of the worst games
played by a quarterback in recent NFL history. The team
then went back to Ponder, then back to Cassel again after
Ponder was injured.
It might be surprising, then, to learn the Vikings actually
scored a healthy 24.4 points per game last year. Ponder and
Cassel are not long-term answers but they’re also not the worst
quarterbacks in the game. With Adrian Peterson to hand the
ball to, some genuine weapons to throw to, and an underrated
offensive line, the pieces are in place for Minnesota to have a
very productive offense.
2014 WEAKNESSES:
• Quarterback position, holes in secondary
VIKINGS
The real problem is that the defense was arguably the worst
in the league last year. Ponder and Cassel are not awful options
as game manager types, but you don’t want them as your
quarterbacks if you have to win shootouts. With Ponder failing
to become the franchise quarterback the Vikings were hoping
for, they selected Louisville QB Teddy Bridgewater with the 32nd
pick in the 2014 NFL draft. Expect Bridgewater to take over as
the starter at some point this season.
With a solid offensive line, weapons in Peterson, Jennings,
Patterson, and tight end Kyle Rudolph, and a new offensive
coordinator in Norv Turner, the pieces are in place for the
Vikings to have a sneaky good offense this year. Whether
it’s Bridgewater, Cassel, or Ponder, they just need one of their
quarterbacks to deliver.
Offensive Player to Watch
While Patterson is one of the most talented young wide
receivers in the NFL, he’s also one of the most enigmatic.
Patterson showcased his talent in spurts last season, as he was
one of the best kick returners in the league and turned 12 rushing
attempts into 158 yards and three touchdowns. What Patterson
didn’t do a lot of last year was actually produce at the wide
receiver position: just 45 catches for 469 yards and 4 touchdowns.
The Vikings are hoping for some major progress in year two.
Norv Turner probably receives more credit than he deserves,
but he is known for being an excellent coach of technique and
fundamentals. If Turner can help Patterson develop into a better
route runner and overall receiver, the potential is there for
Patterson to break out and be a dynamic offensive weapon in the
mold of a bigger and less injury-prone Percy Harvin.
Vikings Defense
Just about everything that could go wrong did go wrong for
the Vikings defense in 2013. The Vikings were quickly exposed
as a team that left gaping holes in their zone defense under head
coach Leslie Frazier and couldn’t get a stop when they needed
to. The secondary was a sieve, the run defense was no longer
dominant, and the pass rush, led by Jared Allen, was greatly
diminished from what it had been in previous years.
The Vikings realize they are at least a couple years away
TOM DAHLIN/GETTY IMAGES SPORT
Adrian Peterson